County says Parrott has been to water plants; notes incorrect

Thu, 09/05/2013 - 10:13amJohn Munford

County officials are clarifying a misrepresentation in recently-released documents that indicated Water System Director Tony Parrott had not visited either of the county's water treatment plants in the past six months.

The documents were incorrect, as Parrott has visited the plants on a variety of occasions in that time frame conducting site visits and conducting tours for county commissioners, members of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division and consultants, according to County Administrator Steve Rapson.

The error was contained in notes taken by the county's human resources department during an interview with Parrott that was conducted by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division following the taste and odor problems with county water that stretched out for several weeks. The notes specifically said that Parrott told EPD that he had not visited the two water treatment plants in six months.

An email from county HR Director Lewis Patterson seeks to clear the air, as he meant to indicate that Parrott said he had not visited the plants on a weekly basis, which had been his practice until about six months prior to the interview. Patterson's email follows:

"I want to try to add some clarity to the notes I made regarding Tony’s plant visits during the EPD interviews. My notes read, 'Parrott has not visited the plants in the last six months as he had weekly in the past. He talks to someone at each plant every other day.' Tony was visiting the plants during the six months prior to his interview with EPD on June 27, 2013, but not on a weekly basis as had been his practice up until about six months before this interview. He was in the two plants during that time, just not as frequently as had been his prior practice. I think to say that he was not in the plants at all for a six month period is an understandable misinterpretation of my notes which I admit could have been more precise on this issue."